Be Quiet! Shadow Rock TopFlow SR1 review

Performance Analysis

The load delta T of 43°C in our LGA1155 test system placed the TopFlow SR1 roughly in the middle of the other air coolers that we've looked at, and is not a bad result given its reduced size compared to many of them. It was able to match the Dark Rock Advanced from Be Quiet!, which is a significantly larger cooler, but it couldn't keep pace with the Dark Rock Pro or Pro 2.

In our AMD rig, the TopFlow SR1 was actually able to trump the Dark Rock Advanced by 2°C, achieving a load delta T of 55°C. This shows the improvements have made in the technology used in Be Quiet!'s cooling over the years. Though other, more expensive air coolers were able to beat this result, it's certainly a decent result given its price. The TopFlow SR1 also remained barely audible during testing, which is unsurprising considering it uses a single Silent Wings fan.

Conclusion

The TopFlow SR1 finds itself rather lost among its competition, struggling to stand out. Its key feature is clearly its supposedly low-profile design, and to be fair if you're someone who can house its 126mm of height but not the 160mm plus of taller coolers, then it's definitely worth considering. However, although most micro-ATX builders will be fine, it's the mini-ITX form factor where low-profile coolers are really necessary, and the Be Quiet! cooler will be too large for the majority of such cases. The BitFenix Prodigy could house it, but this mini-ITX chassis is actually larger than some micro-ATX ones.

Its other defining feature is its noise output, which is admittedly pleasingly low. For LGA1155 users, equally quiet coolers like the Zalman CNPS14X and Thermalright Macho Rev.A are within the same price range, better performers and easier to install, particularly the Thermalright cooler. The TopFlow SR1 performs adequately given its noise levels for AMD users, but the similarly priced Thermolab Trinity matches it on its quiet low speed setting, and has the useful option to increase its fan speed, which boosts its performance considerably.